BP's and newborn human safety...

[55Ballin]

wow. i've read quite a bit about it, but have never ran across that idea...that sucks.

The family was being investigated for drug use when a social service worker documented the cage with out a top or secure lock so I would say it could go either way. The family was obviously careless and neglectful and deserve what's coming to them even if there was no intentional act being covered up. The world of herp lovers, however, does not deserve to take the rap for these people's carelessness and unfortunately it is only going to tarnish the image that your family sees.

[Rorschach]

Did you catch this on the bottom of the article?


"Pledge not to buy exotic animals"


So lame

Exotic animals can be alluring. Sugar gliders have big, adorable eyes and tigers and snakes are tantalizingly dangerous.

But the exotic animal industry takes wild animals from their natural environments and trying to domesticate an exotic animal can be dangerous for both animal and human.

Exotic animals need special care -- like specific diets, a controlled climate, and miles to roam -- that few households can give. When people realize they can't properly care for their exotic pet, they sometimes release the pet into an unnatural habitat, endangering neighbors and the animal.

These wild animals can carry diseases like herpes and hepatitis A. In some tragic incidents, these "pets" have directly harmed their owners, like the recent case of a Florida toddler killed by her family's python.

Wild animals belong in the wild. For humans and animals, pledge not to support the exotic pet industry and not to buy exotic pets.

EDIT: Also, I didn't know I could catch herpes from an exotic pet

[eightleggedfreak]

I know the feeling. My roommate is going through a nasty custody battle with his ex over their daughter, and she's trying to use my snakes against him in court. So he goes before this mediator two weeks ago and this lady says "I don't have any problem with snakes but I don't like this boa constrictor because they constrict." I'm glad I wasn't there because I probably would have lost it. Just like Ball Pythons I can't find a single incident of a human being killed by a BCI. Every incident since 1990 has involved Burms, Retics, or African Rocks.
And on top of that all my snakes are in a separate locked room! People who fear snakes just hear the word boa or python and think baby killer.

[eightleggedfreak]

Did you catch this on the bottom of the article?


"Pledge not to buy exotic animals"


So lame

Exotic animals can be alluring. Sugar gliders have big, adorable eyes and tigers and snakes are tantalizingly dangerous.

But the exotic animal industry takes wild animals from their natural environments and trying to domesticate an exotic animal can be dangerous for both animal and human.

Exotic animals need special care -- like specific diets, a controlled climate, and miles to roam -- that few households can give. When people realize they can't properly care for their exotic pet, they sometimes release the pet into an unnatural habitat, endangering neighbors and the animal.

These wild animals can carry diseases like herpes and hepatitis A. In some tragic incidents, these "pets" have directly harmed their owners, like the recent case of a Florida toddler killed by her family's python.

Wild animals belong in the wild. For humans and animals, pledge not to support the exotic pet industry and not to buy exotic pets.

EDIT: Also, I didn't know I could catch herpes from an exotic pet

Humane Society propaganda. Check out their site, that sort of anti-reptile rhetoric is all over it. I saw this show about reptiles on Animal Planet a few weeks ago and they had a rep from this group called the "Captive Wild Animal Protection Campaign", which basically believes that the keeping of all wild animals as pets should be outlawed, and they went as far as to characterize reptile keepers as hoarders.

[Mephys]

I would agree that there is more dogs sending kids in the hospital everyday and I have never heard of a BP hurting a human.

I work for a vet and I see at least 1 case of children bit by a dog in the face every month where we need to euthanize the dog, if not more.

[blackcrystal22]

I did a quick look about and I could only find one incident with a pet snake (8.5' Burmese Python) and a child and it was a result of the snakes enclosure not only a lock, but a cover.
http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-w...rged-together/

Furthermore, I found another site where in April and May of this year alone, there were 11 children injured and 1 child killed by dogs. How many grandparents are concerned about dogs in the house?
http://www.mothersagainstdogchaining.org/attacks.html

Please don't bring issues about Burmese Pythons into a thread about potential dangers of Ball Pythons. They are two completely different things and should not be related due to risk of confusion.

There has not been a case of a ball python killing a human being.

[jxk]

Yeah. Ball Pythons don't eat people. It's pretty simple.

Don't starve your snake and I think the baby will be completely safe, and hopefully grow up without an irrational fear of these beautiful animals.

[llovelace]

Grandparents can be over reactive, My mom threw a total hissy fit when my daughter was born and I didn't get rid of my cat.
She almost stroked out when she found out that the cat started sleeping with my daughter when she was about 6 months old.

The bottom line is it's your baby, as long as your reptiles are securely housed, no worries.

Congrats on the new baby

[55Ballin]

Please don't bring issues about Burmese Pythons into a thread about potential dangers of Ball Pythons. They are two completely different things and should not be related due to risk of confusion.

There has not been a case of a ball python killing a human being.

I am well aware of the difference and I understand they should not be related. I was using it as an example to exemplify my point in that it is safer to have a snake than a dog because statistics show hundreds of incidents involving dogs in a year to one incident involving a snake. I was not in anyway saying a ball python was involved.

[GoingPostal]

I am well aware of the difference and I understand they should not be related. I was using it as an example to exemplify my point in that it is safer to have a snake than a dog because statistics show hundreds of incidents involving dogs in a year to one incident involving a snake. I was not in anyway saying a ball python was involved.

And there's thousands of cases of children being killed by their own parents every year. Of course a dog is going to be more of a risk than a snake, snakes aren't as commonly kept, snakes aren't loose roaming around the house like a dog, etc. Any number of things can be a risk to a child, I wouldn't be concerned about a BP, there's many ways to secure a cage and zero reason why an infant should ever be around a pet snake IMO. Be responsible, keep your snake area clean and locked up and no problem.